Forking, elevating, and conveying machine.



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2 Sheets--Sheet l,

No Model.)

TN: cams Perm du, metan-mo., wAsHmoroN. :1c

No. 679,439. Patented luly 30, {QOL A. P. TATTERSON.

FRKING, ELE VATING. AND CONVEYING MACHINE.

@ppucanon mea nb. 25, 1901.) QNo Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

L l: A

UNiTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR I". TATTERSON, O

F STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

FORKING, ELEVATING, AND CONVEYING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 679,439, dated July 30,l 1901. Application fled February 25, 1901. Serial No. 48,741. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, ARTHUR P. rILaTTERsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at` Stockton, in the county of San Joaquin and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Forking, Elevating, and OonveyingMachines,and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in forking, elevating, and conveying: machines, such as are used more particularly for manipulating wool during the washing` process; and my object is to furnish a machine which will effectually operate upon wool while in the washing tub or vat; forking or stirring, conveying, and elevating said wool from said tub or vat by mechanical means automatically. This I accomplish by the use of a fork suitably attached to a shaft which is set in a frame and adapted to revolve vertically in an imaginary elliptical figure, two gear-wheels and two ratchet-wheels mounted on said shaft, and suitable shafts and pulleys and such other devices and combination of devices as will be more fully set forth in the following specification and pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings for a better comprehension hereof, in which- Figure 1 represents a front side elevation of my machine, having a portion of the tub broken away, showing the rakes in the liquid and also showing the fork-operating gear and ratchet. Fig. 2 shows a top View of a part of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the friction-gears on the rear end of the fork-shaft as viewed from the rear side. Fig. a is a detail sectional view of the fork-operating gears and ratchets through line X X, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detached View of the inner fork-operating gear and ratchet, showing the position of the ratchet-teeth.

Similar gures of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

l designates the wringing-rolls of a woolwashing vat or tub 3, which are mounted on and journaled in suitable bearings 2, which are located in slotted posts 4, which are 1ocated on and rigidly attached to the sides of the said tub or vat 3, which may be of any approved pattern. On either side of said tub or vat 3 I arrange a track composed of two rails 5, arranged parallel and horizontal, as shown in Fig. 2, and suitably secured in rigid position. On these tracks I mount a carriage 6, which is adapted to rest on trucks 7, having ianges thereon, said trucks 7 being designed to support the carriages 6 and rest on .the tracks 5. The carriages 6 are provided with arms 8 and are located on opposite sides of the tub or vat 3 and are operated simultaneously by means of cog-wheels 10, which engage with cog-racks 1l, the same being rigidly located on the under side of said arms 8, which extend parallel with and longitudinally along said vat. The cog-wheels 10 are rigidly mounted on a shaft 12, which is arranged transversely of the tub or Vat and beneath the carriages 6 and which is journaled on the tub or vat or any suitable frame adjacent thereto. One end of the shaft 12 eX- tends beyond the side of the tub or vat 3, as the front side, and is supported on suitable bearings, as shown in Fig. 2.

Near the outer end of the shaft l2 I affix a gear-wheel 13. A shaft 14,carrying a pinion 15, which is adapted to engage with the wheel 13, is journaled on a suitable frame and arranged parallel with the shaft 12. Said shaft 14E is adapted to carry reversingpulleys arranged in the usual manner, with the center pulley 16 rigidly attached to the shaft 14, and the pulleys 17, one on each side of said pulley 1G, mounted loosely on said shaft. The belts 18 are shifted by means of the bar 19, which is adapted to slide in a guide or keeper 19 and which supports forks 20, which guide the belts 18 in the usual manner. The bar 19 is pressed to and fro by means of a bell-crank 21, which is suitably journaled on the frame and has one end adapted to engage the bar 19 aforesaid. The free end of said bell-crank is adapted to be engaged by two pins 22 22a, which are located at suitable points in the under side of the front carriage.

A shaft 25 is arranged transversely of the tub or vat 3, with one end journaled on each of the carriages 6. The rear end of said shaft 25 has a ratchet-wheel 2G rigidly attached thereto, which wheel is provided with a pawl ICO 27, having Va forwardly extending arm 28, adapted to engage therewith. Y The pa-wl 27 is pivoted to the side of the carriage at a suitable point thereon. The arm 28 of the pawl has its .free Vend sli ghtlycurved upwardly and is adapted to engage witha trip-lug 30,which is attached at a suitable point on the side of the tub 3. The shaftu25 has a fork y3l, which is provided with a suitable number of tines attached rigidly near the center thereof, as

shown yin Fig. 2, 'for/the' purpose as will be shown. I attach a gear-wheel 9 near the extreme end of the shaft 25, which said wheel 9 has a portion of its periphery vfree from cogs, as shown in Fig. 3. A cog-wheel 23, which is provided with a drum 1a, is journaled to the Iside -of the carriage 6 and is adapted to be engaged by the wheel 9. The drum 12t is fitted with clamps 24, which are secured at one end tothe carriage 6, while their other ends are pressed tightly on the drum 1 by a thumb- `screw 2 for the purpose hereinafter shown.

A frame composed of the vertical posts 33 and cap 34 is arranged on and rigidlyT attached to therfront side of the vat 3 at a suite able point longitudinally. The cap 34 has a cog-rack 35 rigidly attached to its under side, which said rack -35 extends about one-half thelength of said cap 34. The said cap 34 is arranged to one side of the posts 33, as,

which is suitably attached to the face of the wheel 38, said pawl being held in engagement with said wheel by a spring 42. A

vratchet-wheel 43 is located on the outside of the gear-wheel 39 and is rigidly attached to the shaft 25. The said Wheel 43 is provided, preferably, with one or more teeth 45, as shown in Fig. 1,which said teeth 45 are adapted to be engaged by a pawl 44, which is pivoted to the side of the cog-wheel 39 and held in engagement with the Wheel 43 by a dat spring 46. The teeth on the ratchet-wheels 40 and 43 are so arranged as to rotate the shaft 25 in the same forwardly direction when operated by the wheels 38 and 39 and their pawls.

66 represents a draper which is employed for the purpose of receiving the wool from the fork 31 and conveying the same to they in shape, as shown, is pivoted. The front end of vsaid rail 48 is adapted to rest on an inclined track 49, which is supported by a short post 50, resting on the side of the tub 3. The-other end is adapted to tilt against a post 51, which is rigidly located on the side of the tub, as shown, said post 5l having one side `of its lower end curved for the purpose, as will be shown.

I employ a rake composed of the armsY 52, which have one end journaled to the shaft 25 and whose .other ends are secured together by cross-bars 53 and supported on trucks 54, which are adapted to rest on the track 48 49 51, as hereinafter described. The cross-bars 53 are adapted to support and carry forks or rakes 55, which depend therefrom forthe purposes presently shown.

The mode of operating my improved forking, elevating, and conveying machine is asI follows: The different parts are placed in their positions, as described, and suitable motion is imparted to the belts 18. The pulley 16 is rotated, so as to propel the carriages 6 toward the squeeze orwringer rolls 1 by reason of the wheels 15 13 10. The fork having been delivered of its load and the pin 22 having engaged with the bell-crank 21, the belts 18 are changed and the direction of the pulley 16 is reversed, thereby propelling the carriages rearwardly. As the carriages 6 are propelled rearwardly the cog-wheel 39 is ro- 'tated by reason of the cog-rack 37. The ratchet-wheel 43 having been properly adjusted on the shaft 25 with its rst tooth 45 at the desired point is engaged by the pawl 44, which causes the fork to rotate rearwardly with the shaft 25 until the carriages 6 have reached their rearward limit, whereupon the fork 31 will have attained a position opposite to that shown in Fig. 2, and the pin 22a will engage with the bell-crank 21, and the belts 18 will be changed and the direction of the carriages 6 reversed. While the fork 31 is in the present position the same is prevented from dropping forward by the friction-gears 9 23 and clamps 24, which impinge upon the drum 1a. As the carriage moves forward, the cog-wheel 38 being rotated rearwardly by the cograck 35, the ratchet-wheel 40 is engaged by the pawl 4l, which continues the motion of the shaft 25 and fork 31, and the same dips down into the tub or vat 3 and raises a portion of its contents on the tines thereof. The fork is raised slightly above the draper 66, whereupon the wheel 38 reaches the end of the cog-rack 35, and the fork is held in said position by the pawl 27 and ratchet-wheel 26 until the said fork is carried over the draper and dumped by the arm 28 engaging the lug 30 and disengaging the aforesaid pawl from the wheel 26, whereupon the fork by its own weight and the weight of the contents thereof drops upon the draper 66 and its load is carried into the wringer-rolls 1. The fork is allowed to drop at this point by reason of the absence IOO IIO

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of cogs on the wheel 9, which is adjusted on the shaft 25. As the shaft 25 moves forward the rake, which has its arms 52 journaled thereto, is drawn forward, and the trucks 54 are adapted to follow up the track 49, whereupon the rail 43 and trucks will assume the position shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, the truck forcing the end of the rail up until the said truck passes the end, when the rail will assume its normal position. The motion of the carriages 6 being reversed, the rake is pushed rearwardly, the trucks 54 traversing the top of the rail 4S, which tilts, as shown in dotted lines, when the trucks pass the pivot until said trucks reach the top of the post 51 beyond the end of the rail, when the same will fall to its normal position. Vith the forward motion of the carriages 6, shaft 25, and rake the trucks 54 follow the faces of the posts 5l downwardly, thus dropping the forks or rakes 55 into the tub or vat 3, which forks or rakes are drawn forward, pulling the contents of the tub toward the fork 3l. By increasing the diameter of the gears 38 and 39 and the length of the cog-racks 35 and 37 the fork is made to travel a greater distance longitudinally in the tub, and the rakes will also be carried a greater distance in the tub, or vice versa.

I have dispensed in both the description and drawings with many features of my machine which are old and have shown only such old parts as are necessary to illustrate my invention.

I am well aware that wool-washing machines have been constructed which comprise attachments for propelling the wool along in the tub and for automatically feeding the wool to the wringing-rolls. Therefore those features I do not claim broadly; but

What I do claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a wool-washing machine, the combination with a suitable tub or vat of a suitable fork rigidly attached to a shaft, said shaft mounted and j ournaled on carriages arranged and adapted to rest on the tub, the cog-wheels 38 and 39 j ournaled loosely on the shaft aforesaid, the ratchet-wheels 40 and 43 rigidly attached to the said shaft, the pawls 41 and 44 pivoted to the wheels 3S and 39 and adapted to engage with the ratchet-wheels 40 and 43 respectively, the cogracks 35 and 37 adapted to engage with the wheels 3S and 39 respec tively and suitable means for impart-ing motion to said carriages, all arranged and operating substantially as shown and described and for the purposes specified.

2. In a machine of the class described the combination with a suitable tub for containing wool or other ber, and having oscillating carriages mounted thereon, of a rake suitably attached at one end to said carriages, suitable rollers or trucks attached to said rake, a track arranged on the tub and adapted to receive the trucks, said track being composed of the piece 49 arranged so as to raise the rake out of the tub, the rail 4S pivoted as described and the rear post 5l, and the forks or rakes 55 attached to the rake-frame, all arranged and operating substantially as shown and described and for the purposes specified.

3. In a Vmachine of the class describedthe combination, a fork rigidly attached to a rotatable shaft which is mounted on carriages adapted to oscillate to and fro on a suitable tub, cog-wheels loosely mounted on said shaft and adapted to engage with cog-racks suitably attached to the tub, ratchet-wheels rigidly attached to said shaft and adapted to be engaged by pawls pivoted on the cog-wheels aforesaid, all arranged and operating substantially as shown and described and for the purposes specified.

4. In a shaft-rotating device the combinai tion with a shaft mounted on suitable carriages adapted to oscillate to and fro, of the cog-wheel 39 adapted to engage with the cograck 37, said cog-rack 37 mounted rigidly on a support, the ratchet-wheel 43 rigidly attached to the shaft aforesaid, and provided with but one lug or tooth 45, the pawl 44 pivoted to the cog-wheel 39 and adapted to engage with the tooth 45, the cog-wheel 38 loosely mounted on the shaft aforesaid, the cog-rack 35 rigidlyattached to a suitable support and adapted to engage the wheel 38, the ratchet-wheel 40 rigidly attached to the shaft, and the pawl 41 pivoted to the wheel 38 and adapted to engage with the ratchet-wheel 40 all arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes specied.

5. In a forking, elevating and conveying machine the combination with a suitable tub or vat provided with a suitable conveyer and wrin ging-rolls of a carriage mounted on either side of said tub or vat on a track therefor, suitable means for oscillating said carriage to and fro, a shaft journaled on said carriages .transversely of the tub or vat, the cog-racks 35 and 37 attached to a suitable frame, the cog-wheels 38 and 39 looselyjournaled on the shaft aforesaid and adapted to engage the cog-racks 35 and 37 respectively, the ratchetwheels 40 and 43 rigidly attached to the shaft, adjacent to the cog-wheels 38 and 39, suitable pawls pivoted to said wheels 38 and 39 and adapted to engage with the ratchet-wheels aforesaid, the ratchet-wheel 26 rigidly attached to the said shaft, the pawl 27 adapted to engage said wheel 2G, the lug 30 adapted to engage with the pawl 27, the friction-gears 9 23, the clamps 24 adapted to engage said gear 23, a suitable fork 3l, attached to the shaft, the rake 52 54 53 55, and the track 5l 49 48 all arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth herein.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR P. TATTERSON.

Vitnesses:

MoLBRY HAYNEs, J osHUA B. WEBSTER.

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